TX: Homeowner Uses Deadly Force to Protect Property: "At approximately 4:30 AM on February 18, 2011 a homeowner was awakened by barking dogs and when he looked outside he saw 3 individuals attempting to steal copper wiring from his his vehicle. The homeowner proceeded to yell at the suspects and fired a gun in their direction. The suspects fled the scene. A few moments later the police received a 911 call about a gunshot victim. When the paramedics arrived the gunshot victim had died. The deceased man has been identified as 53 year-old Rodney Allen Burns of Odessa, Texas. His accomplices Tanya Whitehead and David Whitehead have been charged with felony theft and theft of copper. The Odessa Police Department is investigating the shooting and at this time no charges have been filed against the homeowner."


Thieves lose money trying to rob Kansas City gun store: Two men attempted to rob a Kansas City, Missouri, gun store Thursday and ended up leaving with less money than they had when they came in, the Kansas City Star reported Saturday. One of the would-be robbers entered the store around 2:00pm Thursday local time and asked to buy a box of ammunition. When the 65-year-old clerk, who wore a shoulder holster and a handgun in plain view, told the man it would be about $50, the man said he needed to get more money and left. The man returned around 5:00pm with another man and tried to pay with two $20 bills. When the clerk said he was $10 short, the customer pulled a handgun from his waistband and demanded that the clerk hand over the money in the cash register. The clerk was able to tell that the man's gun was not loaded and pulled his own gun from his shoulder holster. "Before I got mine pointed at him, he ran to the door at, like, 95mph. I'm surprised he didn't bust the glass out of the door." The fleeing robbers left the $40 behind."


NJ plaintiffs fire next shot in right to carry lawsuit: "On February 18, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs (ANJRPC) and 6 individual plaintiffs filed reply papers in their historic right to carry lawsuit, in response to the State of New Jersey’s absurd argument that the Second Amendment only applies inside the home, and that the public needs to be protected from those who legally carry firearms. The new reply papers are available on Saf.org. The federal lawsuit, filed in November of last year, challenges New Jersey’s unconstitutional “justifiable need” standard for issuance of handgun carry permits - a nearly impossible standard to meet that has all but eliminated the right to self-defense with a firearm in the Garden State. In its papers filed last month, the Attorney General defended New Jersey’s existing carry laws, revealed apparent anti-Second Amendment bias"